Chicago DUI roadblocks are targeting low-income Black and Latino neighborhoods, where the actual known incidence of DUI is low, compared to several more affluent neighborhoods. This isn't just more of my typical anti-roadblock screed. This is…

Proposed Illinois DUI law to allow those with lifetime DUI revocation a permit fail

A common-sense effort for a solution to a real problem has eluded the Illinois legislature yet again, most likely because of fear.Representative Elaine Neikritz proposed legislation that would have allowed a carefully Restricted Driving…

Don't keep secrets from your Criminal or DUI defense lawyer. Espescially not about the good stuff.

I suppose nothing should really surprise me. But this week I had an hour-long conversation with a client about his Chicago DUI case. It was our first meeting, but it was obvious within a few minutes we were a great fit.I was going to be his…

Chang Carlin Legal Blog

Conflicting credit report facts often make it impossible to figure out what you should or shouldn't do to increase your credit score. One piece of advice might advise you to put your credit card debt on one card and leave the other cards…

Filing for bankruptcy is an emotionally difficult task, and it requires a deep look into your finances, debts, assets, and almost every facet of your daily life. Emerging from bankruptcy often means taking a strict approach to your budget,…

If you owe debts you can't pay and have been on the receiving end of phone calls from debt collectors, you might be considering a step like bankruptcy or figuring out how you can negotiate with debt collectors. If debt collectors are…

Uncontested Divorce in Illinois

If you are looking for a quick and affordable divorce in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, there are a couple things you should know. I’m a Rolling Meadows divorce lawyer, and I wrote this FAQ on Rolling Meadows uncontested divorce to shed…

If you want a fast and affordable divorce in Illinois, then an uncontested divorce is for you. But what if your spouse won’t agree? Whether you live in Cook, DuPage, or Lake county, you need the agreement of your husband or wife to get…

Do you want to pay a flat fee for a lawyer to represent you in an uncontested divorce in Illinois? You’ve found the right place, and you can call 224-300-0529 to get started now. Or, check out this article to learn more about an…

As of January 1, 2015, Illinois has a completely new statute dealing with maintenance (formerly known as alimony and sometimes called spousal support). Never before have we had a statutory formula for how to calculate maintenance. The…

Both mediation and collaborative divorce help couples sort through a variety of issues, including child custody, the division of property and debt, retirement benefits, child support and other matters in a way that’s designed to keep…

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At the Law Offices of Patrick Markey, P.C., we strive to help our clients successfully navigate all facets of the legal separation and divorce process in Illinois, including property division and maintenance payments.…

This Chicago DUI attorney has posted here and hereabout having your driving privileges taken away before you ever have your first day in court. From the Chicago Tribune:Bureaucratic mix-ups have let thousands of drunken drivers…

Tomorrow is election day. And like many people, I am busy. My husband is busy. We have to work. I have to pack after work for a flight for a memorial service. But we voted already. We prefer to vote early…

by Michael H. Wasserman We live in a terribly unsafe world transacting real estate purchases and sales. There is a lot of money passing between Buyers and Sellers and Lenders and Title Insurance Companies. Unfortunately, there are a…

by Michael H. WassermanCook County property owners can now see their 2014 1st Installment property tax bills online at the County Treasurer's web site. Tax bills are due on or before March 3, 2015. The first installment bill is not a…

Sign the ATA petition to separate bicyclists and pedestrians on the Lakefront Trail

by: Michael H. WassermanAccording to Active Transportation Alliance, the 18-mile Chicago lakefront path is the busiest trail in the country, with peak usage at more than 30,000 users per day during the summer. (Lucky me) it is also the…

Chicago Bankruptcy Blog

5 Simple Ways to Avoid BankruptcyHi everyone.As a bankruptcy attorney, I see so many cases for people who file, who make good money, but bad decisions. It goes against my business model, but as a counselor, I'm going to share with…

The Chicago Bears have filed a proof of claim for an unsecured debt owed them in Edison Mission Energy's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, claiming that Edison owes them $114,240 for use of an executive suite. Read about the matter…

Can you believe it? 1 in 3 Americans have no savings?1 in 5 nearing retirement age have no savings either.This does not bode well, especially when they turn to the government for support.But bankruptcy can help get people back on track.There…

Ready to move your startup out of the garage and into real office space? Here are 4 tips on negotiating your startup office lease: 1. Don’t lease too much, or too little, space. For a startup, one of the most … Continue…

In the excitement of starting a business, no one wants to think about ending it, but knowing how to make a safe exit, as well as a grand entrance, is a skill every startup founder should have. Most startup founders … Continue…

Most people are aware that a surviving spouse is usually entitled to inherit all or a large portion of the estate of a deceased spouse. Fewer understand the effect on estates if one spouse dies during a legal separation or after a…

Minors have no legal capacity to manage property. Thus, transferring property and other assets to minors can be problematic. For example, parents or other adults may wish to convey a small amount of property to a minor without investing…

The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was signed into law by President Clinton on September 21, 1996. DOMA defines “marriage” to consist exclusively as a heterosexual union of a man and a woman. Further, DOMA directs…

In the midst of the internationally known Ebola scare, a Texas hospital sent a Liberian patient home with infection like symptoms, with no testing, after learning he had just come from disease ravaged West Africa. In doing so, the hospital's…

One of the most common knee surgeries performed on patients today may be completely unnecessary in many instances, according to a recent study out of Finland. The study followed 146 patients between the ages of 35 and 65 with symptoms of…

For over a decade, proponents of tort reform have argued medical malpractice reform is needed to reduce spiraling healthcare costs. If these reforms were implemented, tort reformers promised reduced healthcare costs. Opponents of tort…

Fahnert Family Law Office

Marie Fahnert is a divorce lawyer in Chicago, Illinois. She has devoted her career exclusively to family law and the associated financial and child-related issues of maintenance (spousal support), child-custody, child-support, division of…

When I saw Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED speech, The danger of a single story, it brought back memories of case I dealt with last year. Maybe if the people involved in the case had seen this video, they would have been more aware of…

BIZ LAW DDS

One of the most valuable assets of a health care practice is its location. If you do not own that location, it is extremely important that you secure the value of this key asset through a well-drafted medical office lease. … Continue…

Yesterday, the Wisconsin Senate, by an overwhelming vote of 30 to 3, passed a bill that prohibits insurers from setting fees for dental and related services not covered by their policies. This non-covered services bill was approved by…

On Wednesday, April 17, 2013, the Wisconsin Assembly, by a vote of 89 to 8, passed a bill that prohibits insurers who provide limited-scope dental benefit policies from setting fees for dental and related services not covered by those…

The Real Estate Blawg

One of the most valuable assets of a health care practice is its location. If you do not own that location, it is extremely important that you secure the value of this key asset through a well-drafted medical office lease. … Continue…

Ready to move your startup out of the garage and into real office space? Here are 4 tips on negotiating your startup office lease: 1. Don’t lease too much, or too little, space. For a startup, one of the most … Continue…

Pope & Jaburek, P.C.

Nursing Home and Retirement Community Slip and Fall Accidents are Preventable

Falls cost big money. In 2010 alone, older Americans falling cost the U.S. health care system $30 billion in direct medical costs according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If that wasn’t alarming…

Speed to Blame for Accident That Killed Four Young Chicagoans and Seriously Injured Another

Speed played a factor in a recent crash killing four young Chicagoans and sending another to the hospital with serious injuries. Police said that the alleyway behind a Lowe’s store in Montclare is where the victims were found. The BMW…

The Chicago legal community has lost one of its own. Ashley Haws of Davi Law Group was one of six people on board a boat that capsized late May. The group was headed from Burnham Harbor to New Buffalo, Michigan where it let off two of its…

“You got it buddy: the large print giveth, and the small print taketh away” – Tom Waits. “Step Right Up.” Small Change. 1990. CD. Back on August 2, 2013 I was happy to report that medical marijuana was…

New Illinois expungement and sealing of records law, an experienced defense attorney explains the law.

Illinois has just recently passed a law which makes more convictions eligible to be expunged. The law is Public Act 97-1120, and it went into effect on January 1, 2013. The criminal law section regarding expungements and sealing…

Medical Marijuana in Illinois, a summary by a Kane county defense lawyer.

On August 1, 2013 Governor Quinn signed House Bill 1 into law. This bill allows doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients with certain conditions. Those patients will be allowed to purchase and use marijuana from state…

Second District Judge Mike DiReda found that Sara Loving was owed $250,000 in damages from defendants James and Cindy Davis for injuries she sustained in the July 2012 attack. The Standard-Examiner of Ogden reported Loving was visiting the…

How Many Wrongful Deaths Caused By Recent Defects Could Have Been Prevented By Toyota?

Toyota has initiated a recall of the more than 8.5 million affected vehicles with potentially faulty accelerators. The vehicles may be prone to sudden uncontrolled acceleration, which is alleged to have caused a number of crashes and 34…

The Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act, 225 ILCS 732/1-1 et. seq. became law in Illinois on June 17, 2013. Environmentalists and landowners above the "New Albany Shale" initially hailed the law, but now that the Illinois Dept. of Natural…

Laser Guided Vehicles (LGV), sometimes referred to as Automatic Guided Vehicles (AGV) are being used increasingly in manufacturing facilities as a replacement for human operated forklifts. While there are benefits in terms of efficiency…

As an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer it is difficult to fathom a scenario where hospital administrators and physicians conspire to unnecessarily intubate patients and while intubated to overmedicate them so as to require a tracheotomy. …

The nation’s highest court gave police broad powers to stop vehicles based on anonymous tips in a recent opinion. In the Navarette v. California case, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the police can pull over a vehicle based…

Illinois law penalizes speeding 35 mph over the limit with up to one year in jail

Drive too fast and you might go to jail. No, seriously. And if you have been pulled over for speeding by a State Trooper, you may have been told the same thing. Under a new law in Illinois, speeding 35 MPH over the posted limit is a Class A…

For years, DUI offenders have had to worry about their driver’s licenses and the possibility of incarceration. But recently, prosecutors have given defendants another cause for concern. The government can seize a DUI offender’s…

TechTarget network has many e-newsletters and I subscribe to several of them. One of the e-newsletters is called “WhatIs.com” and it endeavors to define a term in one of its features called Word of the Day. And so let…

Webopedia defines a PRIVATE Cloud as one where the enterprise’s computing platform is under the control of the IT department and implemented within the corporate firewall. It is designed to offer the same features and…

While many firms work differently, Hanagan & McGovern offers free consultations to people with workers’ compensation, personal injury, disability and death claims. Frequently, people don’t really need a lawyer to handle their…

Before any discussion of workers’ compensation benefits can be meaningful, it is essential to understand the concept of the Average Weekly Wage (AWW). The AWW forms the basis for most benefits a worker will receive during the…

As is likely true in every state, in Illinois it is important that an injured worker report a work accident to their employer as soon as reasonably possible after the accident. Giving timely notice of an accident is often critical for…

Accident resulting in personal injury or death with a suspended license: felony

The Illinois legislature changed a section in the Vehicle Code in 2014, establishing severe penalties for driving with a suspended or revoked license. Driving while license suspended, 625 ILCS 5/6-303(a), is in most situations a Class A…

Article 36 seizure: forfeiture process for vehicles used in the commission of an offense

Drive a vehicle illegally on Illinois roads, and you might not take the vehicle home with you. An obscure law in this state allows the police to seize the vehicle and sell it. And in situations where someone other than the owner was driving,…

The Illinois Secretary of State recently announced the ground rules for driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants. In the last legislative session, the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 957, that will allow aliens who do not…

Cerebral Palsy in children
Cerebral Palsy in children is one of those rare conditions that plagues every two newborn babies in a 1000. This disease is marked by a permanent damage to brain neurons that control muscle reflexes and the…

What is Cerebral Palsy?
Among the various diseases that plague newborn babies, Cerebral Palsy is one that is commonly heard of. However, its occurrence and frequency has increased gradually over the last decade. Literally speaking, Cerebral…

Are Older Mother’s Increasing Their Children’s Risk Of Birth Injuries?

The increasing trend of late pregnancies
The information and technology era of today has put our future at risk, according to some medical experts. These experts feel that the society at large demands way more from women in terms of …

Illinois Business Law Blog

One company used the trade secrets of another company, yet despite this fact the court didn’t stop them. This can happen to your company as well if you fail to properly protect your company secrets. Failing to implement non-disclosure…

As you probably know, the Family Medical and Leave Act only applies to companies who employ 50 or more employees (within a 75 mile radius) each working day during at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. But…

Is it Time to Modify Your Policy on Confidentiality during Investigations?

It has been widely reported that the EEOC is following the NLRB’s lead when it comes to analyzing company policies. It seems that company policies regarding confidentiality during harassment investigations are under fire.…

When Naperville babysitter Elzbieta Plackowska pled not guilty to the murder of two young children, she did so in front of cameras, which were allowed in a DuPage County courtroom for the first time in the county’s history.

Kane County to Crack Down on Drunk Driving during Thanksgiving Holiday

Police in Kane County used a DUI crackdown to prevent drunk driving around Halloween last month, and they will use similar enforcement the night before Thanksgiving.
Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said four arrests were made…

Jameson was ordered to reimburse the Hollywood Palms theater group for promotional expenses and lost revenue after Jameson violated terms of her contract which required her to attend movie premiers at two Illinois theaters.

Romanucci and Blandin Blog

When Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said recently he would lie to coaches about suffering a concussion to stay in a game, he not only admitted his willingness to risk his health but sent a dangerous message to youngsters who play the…

Chicago Bears fans are all too aware of the concussion suffered by Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, with a lot of online and offline conversations about whether he’d be back in the game for this Monday night.

New Study by Defense Department Reveals no Clear Way to Treat Victims of Traumatic Brain Injury

With all the advances in medicine and treatment, one would hope that great strides have been made for treating traumatic brain injury (TBI). We were disappointed with the results of a recent study showing the techniques to restore…

A report by CNNMoney indicates that right before the July 2012 deadline, Congress voted to extend the student rate of 3.4% for another 12 months. By doing this, Congress avoided a spike in interest rates on these types of student loans. …

A report by CNNMoney indicates that right before the July 2012 deadline, Congress voted to extend the student rate of 3.4% for another 12 months. By doing this, Congress avoided a spike in interest rates on these types of student loans.…

Illinois Truckers as Independent Contractors or Employees; Nature of the Business Test Matter

8-10-09
Illinois adopted a stricter test in 2007 that favors classifying workers as an employee rather than as an independent contractor. No single factor determines whether a worker will be classified as an employee or an independent…

9-05-11
As part of the new Illinois workers compensation reform package, downstate hearing locations will be consolidated into the 6 regions listed below to take effect on January 1, 2012. The reduction in hearing locations is structured…

With the cut back in the labor force more and more workers are being forced to pick up the slack. This oftens times leads to injuries caused by over-use. One of the common injuries associated with over-use is the tear of the shoulder's…

A jury recently found that having a anti-sexual harassment policy just isn't enough to guard against lawsuits.
The EEOC suide the owner of a franchise restaurant on behalf of 2 young women who were sexually harassed by an older manager. …

The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the funds in a Medicare set-aside (MSA) are part of a workers' compensation settlement thereby allowing an ex-wife to a portion of the MSA.
The claimant was injured in a work accident in 2008. He…

On Monday, January 23, 2012, the US Supreme Court strengthened an individual's right to privacy under the fourth amendment. Unanimously. In United States v. Jones,(text of opinion) the US Supreme Court voted that it is a violation…

Involuntary Manslaughter, Drug-Induced Homicide and the Cocaine in the Rectum Guy

A story has been moving its way quickly around the internet this holiday season. This story comes out of North Charleston, South Carolina and involves two brothers sitting in the back of a police car. The older brother convinces his…

American Jeopardy: The Pious Who Remain Unrighteous – Who was Joseph or Moses for $10

I was never entirely pleased with most Democrats or Republicans. There is always a certain amount of negotiating and pandering in politics. Incumbents enjoy power. Those of us who choose to avoid the challenge for personal reasons must…

American Jeopardy: The Pious Who Remain Unrighteous – Who was Joseph or Moses for $10

I was never entirely pleased with most Democrats or Republicans. There is always a certain amount of negotiating and pandering in politics. Incumbents enjoy power. Those of us who choose to avoid the challenge for personal reasons…

I’ve seen a few comments pop up. My hope is to educate, not pontificate. Even Newt Gingrich has (had?) a rather moderate view on immigration challenges in the U.S. Those who drive the anti-immigration agenda don’t have the Republican…

There is a new law which allows you to transfer residential real estate upon death without probate. It’s called the Illinois Residential Real Property Transfer on Death Instrument Act (“Act”). The instrument is called a Transfer on…

Here’s a valuable tip that I offer to my clients during our bankruptcy consultations:
Close your checking and savings accounts if you also have outstanding loans at the same bank.
Now, you may be thinking, “But I love my bank! I’ve…

I love documentaries. It’s easier (and more entertaining) for me to learn something new by watching a video than by reading a book.
So if you’re a visual learner like me and you’re interested in learning more about bankruptcy, check…

Medical malpractice in misdiagnosis of cancer is unfortunately common in Illinois and other states. Diagnosing cancer correctly at the earliest stages is crucial to having a good outcome. At its earliest stages, cancer can often be cured by…

Illinois personal injury lawyers have filed product liability lawsuits involving the Yaz and Yasmin birth control pills. Yasmin is sold under the Ocella and Zarah brands. Yaz is sold under the Gianvi brand name. Bayer Corporation,…

Patent Infringement Verdict of $290 Million, and Clear and Convincing Standard, Upheld by U.S. Supreme Court

Contingency fee patent attorneys have won a victory for a small tech company . The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a $290 million patent infringement verdict against Microsoft which was appealed from Judge Leonard Davis. This is the largest patent…

Since IRAs have become a popular retirement tool, it was only a matter of time before inherited IRAs become a common place. When the owner of an IRA passes away, the named beneficiary inherits the account. Inherited IRAs have restrictions and…

If you're in or near retirement, chances are you've already heard that you can use Roth IRA income as a key tool in funding your retirement. That’s because, while money going into a Roth IRA is taxed, all earnings are tax-free, as long as…

In the same way that LEED has transformed architectural design to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean construction is emerging as the next big thing to revolutionize the building industry.
via…

In Illinois, an employer is subject to vicarious liability for his employees under the doctrine of respondeat superior. Bank of America, N.A. v. Bird.392 Ill.App.3d 621, 911 N.E.2d 1239, 331 Ill.Dec. 1009 (2009). Under this doctrine, an…

Your Affordable Criminal Defense

Congratulations are in order for two of our clients and Attorney Tina M. Gagliano. She successfully won two cases involving speeding in a construction zone citations last week.The first speeding in a work zone ticket was dismissed on our…

Illinois Supreme Court Justice Burke delivered an opinion recently on the issue of whether a passenger in a car may be lawfully searched after being stopped initally for a seatbelt violation when the officer found a warrant for the…